COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

A surprising number of people are turning now to alternative medicinal clinics, for assistance in what is called "deprogramming" which is the release from the psychological dependence on religious or political cults.

At one time this was to help people who had been emotionally abducted by such groups as Jehovah Witnesses, the Evangelicals etc, or the deliberately constructed semi-spiritual political movements such as Tony Blair's New Labor, with the Millennium Dome as the religious focus, we saw this too in America with George Bush constantly using God as an excuse for Middle East wars and U.S terrorism.

We now get referrals for chocoholics, computerholics, football addicts and those needing help with hatred or anger management. And with the huge boom in the supernatural, we are seeing a new phenomenon, both the Harry Potter freaks and the Paranorphobics, both these extremes show evidence in some personalities, in that they feel justified in extremist behavior.

Strangely, there are people who believe Harry Potter is a real person, but others suffering from Extreme Denialism, or Pathological skepticism, disbelieve everything to the point where their lives are controlled by it.

My Thursday client was an interesting guy who was at a point in his life where he doubted just about everything, people he spoke to, his wife and work colleagues.

This had reached the point where he could no longer read newspapers or watch T.V.

Pathological Skepticism is being seen more and more as a treatable complaint, with such techniques as CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and other talk through therapies. In group therapy, this man would aggressively question his wife about what she did when he was at work, who she spoke to and how much she spent. He said nothing was as it seemed, religion was a con, politics was all contrived, and doctors just secretly killed people. This had reached a point where his wife was preparing to go stay at her mothers, because life was becoming intolerable...

Stage one is to actually recognize there is a problem, at first our friend just wanted an argument, but after three group classes was able to visit his sons school sports day, without condemning it, and was able to take his family out for a meal without assuming he was being watched and it may be poisoned, his wife says he is almost back to the normal man she knew and loved.